Possibilities and Limitations of Dendrochronological Dating: The Case of Historical Wooden Buildings in the Novosibirsk Region
Possibilities and Limitations of Dendrochronological Dating: The Case of Historical Wooden Buildings in the Novosibirsk Region
doi:10.17746/1563-0110.2026.54.1.106-115
M.O. Filatova1, V.S. Myglan2, Z.Y. Zharnikov2, A.V. Tainik2, N.V. Rygalova3, I.L. Vakhnina2, and V.V. Barinov2 1Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pr. Akademika Lavrentieva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia 2Siberian Federal University, Pr. Svobodny 79, Krasnoyarsk, 660041, Russia 3Altai State University, Pr. Lenina 61, Barnaul, 656049, Russia
Calendar dating of archaeological wood presupposes the existence of long-term tree-ring chronologies. Until recently, the development of such chronologies for the Novosibirsk Region remained an unanswered challenge. Several methodological issues had to be addressed, including the assessment of spatial homogeneity in dendrochronological signals across the region, the enhancement of the composite climatic signal contained within tree growth patterns (achieved through modern approaches to sample preparation and measurement of linear parameters of annual tree rings in archaeological wood), etc. To address these challenges, in 2016-2023, wood cores were sampled from 12 sites in forest stands dominated by Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), along with those from seven architectural structures in the Novosibirsk Region. The application of modern digital methodologies enabled us to construct a tree-ring chronology network. The analysis revealed homogeneous tree-ring signals across the region, demonstrating that regional and composite chronologies provide a basis for reliable calendar dating of wood from 18th-19th century historical structures in the region. The study resulted in the development of a long-term generalized Nov chronology, spanning 375 years, by pooling samples from living trees and archaeological wood, with EPS > 0.85 for the most recent 318-year segment. Results demonstrate that residual (res) chronologies should be preferentially employed for cross-dating procedures in the Novosibirsk Region.
